If you have ever looked at a contract’s New York choice-of-law provision or a status conference stipulation and thought to yourself, “Who wrote this darned thing?” then now is your chance to weigh in. The Commercial Division Advisory Council has recommended two new forms—a model choice-of-law provision and a model status conference stipulation and order form—and the Office of Court Administration is soliciting public comments. Comments should be emailed to rulecomments@nycourts.gov by August 25, 2017.

Standard New York Choice-of-Law Provision

The proposed sample choice-of-law provision, which would be appended to the Rules of the Commercial Division, is as follows:

THIS AGREEMENT AND ITS ENFORCEMENT, AND ANY CONTROVERSY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE MAKING OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT, SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO NEW YORK’S PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICTS OF LAW.

The gentle reader must forgive the ALL-CAPS format of the original proposed text (presumably this provision was intended to be read loudly in a New York accent). This proposed uniform provision is intended to (1) assist drafters who wish to choose New York law to govern disputes; (2) reduce litigation over choice-of-law issues; and (3) showcase New York’s “predictable and sensible commercial law” and thereby increase commercial litigation in New York courts. Whether increased commercial litigation in New York’s courts is a desirable goal may be open to debate, but few would object that litigation over sloppily-drafted choice-of-law provisions should be eradicated to the extent possible.

Model Status Conference Stipulation and Order

The Advisory Council has also recommended the adoption of a revised model status conference stipulation and order for use in the Commercial Division. This revised form, which can be viewed here, was designed to incorporate changes in Commercial Division rules and practice since the form was last revised in October 2015. The proposed form has a new section on expert discovery, contains reminders on the finality of discovery deadlines and the availability of alternative dispute resolution, and allows for greater specificity regarding discovery topics. As a model form it is not mandatory, but insofar as it is used as a guide by judges it provides a comprehensive overview of the discovery topics that a court would need to address.

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